The definition of twee is something "excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental," supposedly born from a childish mispronunciation of the word sweet. While the terms "twee" or "twee pop" are considered pejorative in the UK[citation needed], a retrospective fascination with the genre in the US saw Americans eagerly defining themselves as twee.[3] According to The A.V. Club's Paula Mejia:

The difference between “twee” and “indie pop” is slight but polarizing. Both styles of music transcended genre, became a tape-trading lifestyle, and have similar influences, drawing from the Ramones’ minimalist three-chord structures as much as The Jesus And Mary Chain’s salty pop harmonies. Everyone varies slightly on origins ... Twee itself began as a vast collection of sounds, gathering the threads where luminaries left off, and carving out divergent avenues in their wake.[2]

The author Marc Spitz suggests that the roots of Twee stem from the post-war 1950s music.[4] While the culture categorized itself under the moniker of "indie" (short for independent), many major twee powerhouses gained mainstream critical acclaim for their contributions to the twee movement.[5]

Cuddlecore is a movement that emerged as a consequence of twee pop[2] that was briefly prominent in the mid-1990s.[6] This label described a style marked by harmony vocals and pop melodies atop a punk-style musical backing.[7] Cuddlecore bands were usually, although not always, all-female and essentially represented a more pop-oriented variation on the contemporaneous riot grrrl scene.[6]